Ramp-A-Thon

BuiltByMAC

ya know man, that came out completely wrong. I hadn't even checked your post count...your post reminded me of seeing some guys wandering around w/ the RAT logo, but hadn't made any comment in here or to me.

Totally my bad, I appreciate your joining both the forum and this thread...glad to have you on board.

Mac

Dan V.

No problem, Mac. It's all good!

I kinda took that the wrong way myself. I clicked on the link to join the RAT group and didn't know that the badge would appear just because of that. I had thought the badge had to be earned. So, I was feeling a little guilty about that being under my name before I had actually built a ramp.

I'll be in touch. I WILL make this happen!

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

LNG24

Update on my ramp job. Turns out the people who I wanted to do this for are of means. Thats to say, they are not in need of a hand out in any way. We are moving ahead witht he rap project, but I am pulling it from this program as they can afford to pay for this ramp.

__________________
Larry
www.Lexie-Rides.com
www.SportTouringGear.com
St. Lawrence Properties

KACHINADOLL

Hey Mac, Have you had any luck with the military sites?? I'm also interested in any information you can give me about building ramps in the SF bayarea. I would like to help out. Bob

BuiltByMAC

I haven't contacted any of the military sites directly. Greg Di was going to look into homesforourtroops.org and a couple of other guys were looking at woundedwarrior.com (org?) but I haven't heard from them...

What kind of information are you looking for to build ramps?

I would start by reading this entire thread and the two threads that are listed in Cole's initial post in this thread. Once you've read those three, you should have a pretty good handle on what you need to do to get a ramp project going...

I should repeat myself...the Ramp-a-thon is for self starters. Guys who see a problem, identify what needs to happen to fix said problem, and take the necessary steps to fix the problem.
A ramp is not a difficult project - once you have your recipient chosen and materials locked in, you just go out and build the ramp.

Mac

KACHINADOLL

Sorry Mac, I guess I missundrerstood what you were all trying to do. I admit I did skip a few posts in my haste to get the end and offer my services. I have built ramps for people with disabilities in the past. I thought you were ORGANIZING in different areas to help those in need. I just wanted to jump on board and help. Especially with the military personal that are coming home minus arms and legs. I have a special affection for those that give so much but receive so little when they return home. We are all Marines in my family but I want to help any and all that need it. I will check with some local organization to see what I can do on my own. Thanks, Bob

Dan V.

Just a quick update here.

I spoke with our local newspaper's reporter a couple of nights ago at a meeting and he asked me to do a complete writeup on RAT and email it him. I just finished that. He promised me that he would get it published in the very next edition. This is a small, local paper, but gets delivered free to about 10,000 households & businesses in my area. I'm optimistic that I can find a recipient this way.

I'll let you know how it works out.

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

BuiltByMAC

right on, man...
you gonna interview the recipients yourself or go through an organization?

Mac

Dan V.

I was planning to do it myself. Do you think I should let the recipient be chosen by others?

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

BuiltByMAC

I personally wouldn't want to vet the applications because I don't want to try and figure out if they "need" a free ramp or not. An organization that deals w/ low-income handicapped folks would already have a list of people who could use a ramp. Physical therapists at schools would also know kids who need a ramp.

You're gonna be asking them for income information, trying to verify it and trying to figure out if they're pulling the wool over your eyes in an attempt to get a free ramp. I just wouldn't want the hassle of dealin' w/ that stuff.

That's only my opinion and what I would do. As RAT is merely an idea, you're free to make the ramp happen however you like.

Good luck and let me know how it works out. We're all learning here...

Mac

famleeguy1

Hi I am new here to the site I just wanted to let you know that I love what you have started with the ramp a thon .I was in a wheelchair myself for 3 years with no hope of getting out of it and I had to make my own ramp while i was in my chair.This is a very noble cause as any step more than 5 inches might as well be a mountain.Frustration is the biggest disability we fight every day. We can get past the chair by accepting it,but having to wait on someone to just get out was what upset me most . But for someone to build a ramp to help you gain independance to go outside you guys are truly "the good guys"in the movie of life. Thanks to your inspiration I will be adding a ramp soon to someones life as I forgot just what it means.

Dan V.

The article I mentioned above above appeared in yesterday's edition of our local paper.

I'll give it a week or so and if there's no response, I'll start with the other sources mentioned earlier in this thread and on the RAT site.

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

Dan V.

Man, nothing's ever easy is it?

I got a call from the article in the local rag and went there today to look at the site. It turns out they don't need a ramp. What they have is a used outdoor stair-lift that needs installation, supposedly for the HO's mother.

I've got 2 issues here. 1. I'm not sure they are as "in need" as they said. I caught a glimpse of a brand-new Lincoln Navigator in the garage. 2. I've never installed one of these before. It seems relatively straightforward but there is no manual and the model is so old that the company that manufactured it has gone through a couple of different owners since this model was made. Can't find any useful info online.

What do you think about this, Mac. On one hand, it IS providing access for someone who currently doesn't have it. But on the other, it's not for a wheelchair-bound person and I suspect they can afford to pay.

I'd love some opinions on what I should do here.

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

BuiltByMAC

You've just found out why I am not interested in vetting potential recipients myself. I don't want to try to find out their "need" level. I'd rather have a gov't agency or similar do that legwork for me. You can't go on their possessions alone, unless you want to dig to find out if they were given the truck, if it's not theirs, if it was a purchase after a court settlement....the choices go on and on. And that's not a contractor's job.

By choosing to vet the applicants yourself, you must come up w/ an application that they fill out. That will give you a basis for need. It's up to you to figure out how to verify info they give though.

Mac

Dan V.

Mac, you were right. I'm going to contact my nearest Vet services center and the local Make-A-Wish foundation and see if I can locate a more deserving recipient that way.

In the meantime, I'll talk to the folks I went to see yesterday and explain that RAT is really designed for building wheelchair ramps, not installing stair-lifts for people that aren't confined to a chair. If they want the lift installed, I'll do it, but they will pay for it.

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

BuenaHomes

I agree with what you guys are doing!

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Ventura, California, BUILDER

Dan V.

Just an update here.

I finally found a deserving recipient! I just met with him at his home about 10 minutes away from me. He's a quadriplegic as a result of a 2-story fall some years back. He's currently using a couple of truck ramps to get in and out of his house. He has a friend who was supposedly going to build him a ramp but he's been waiting for over a year and saw the article I submitted to our local paper.

His wife has left him and his sole source of income is disability, which barely covers his rent and utilities. This was shared with me by the visiting nurse who was there when I visited.

Mac, this looks like it could be an almost exact replica of the ramp you posted pics of on the RAT site. The distance from the door sill plate to the ground is 22" and if I come off the 5x5 landing at a 45 degree angle, the distance to the driveway is 24'. Even with the angle, there is plenty of room on the level platform for him to be able to navigate the door.

Next stop - suppliers! Wish me luck!

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

BuiltByMAC

Our local HBA RAT is finished...3 ramps built over the weekend of June 20th.
We had two builders w/ crews finish their ramps on Sat., another builder was running solo and got the structural framing done on the U-shaped ramp. I came on Monday and installed the plywood and handrails to finish that one off.
We had the mayor out at one jobsite but unfortunately, no media. I found out later, there was a Children's Safety Fair at a local park and most of the media was involved w/ that. Next year, I will double check all social calendars as well as our own calendars to try to avoid conflicts like this...

Anyway, 3 folks now have safe access out of their homes. We'll have one more meeting to get feedback from all involved and figure out how to make next year's event even better.

Picture w/ recipient and mayor, HBA staff, builder and crew and some goofy cake-holdin' fool!


Another very happy recipient w/ his builder and crew -


Shot of the completed ramp...


Ramp that I helped on - lady walks w/ help of a cane (for the time being) and had two fairly unusable staircases off her home. This ramp replaced one of them.

Another shot of the graspable handrail I put on. She will make heavy use of this when walking on the ramp so it needed to be strong and continuous down the length of the ramp.



Anyway, as I've said before, I'm more than willing to help you guys get your projects off the ground. If you need more help than what is given on the website or in these threads, let me know. I'm looking forward to seeing your completed projects !

Mac

Dan V.

Great job, Mac!! Nice looking ramps.

I've got a total of 4 ramps slated to be done over the next month or so (yeah, I've been busy!). In addition, even though I told them that they don't qualify for a freebie, I've agreed to donate my time and direct a build of 2 ramps for my church. Plenty of volunteers from the youth group on those. They (the church) will pay for the materials.

Both ramps for the church will need to be switchbacks (?) due to the height of the doors. Do you have any handy plans and/or material lists available for those?

__________________
I spent most of my money on booze and women. The rest I just wasted.

www.forwardsolutions.net

KACHINADOLL

Hey Mac,
Nice ramp and I like the detail work on the hand rails. Also I have contacted the Marines for Life and they are interested in having a ramp built for one of their Marines. I have a verbal OK for materials from the owner of a local lumber yard so I'm 2/3's there. Question ..... Do you always pull permits for your jobs and if so who pays for them - I'm sure the city isn't going to pay.
Bob